John M. (John Metcalf) Taylor

John Metcalf Taylor (1845–1918) was an American writer associated with Hartford, Connecticut. The surviving records found for him point to a long writing life that stretched from an 1867 Williams College oration, Social Forces, Philanthropy, to later historical and religious books, including The Witchcraft Delusion in Colonial Connecticut, 1647–1697 and Roger Ludlow, the Colonial Lawmaker.

His books suggest a strong interest in New England’s past, especially the moral and legal ideas that shaped colonial Connecticut. In The Witchcraft Delusion in Colonial Connecticut, he examined accusations and trials from the 17th century with the clear aim of showing how fear, belief, and public opinion could distort justice.

Reliable biographical detail about his personal life is limited in the sources readily available online, so much of his portrait has to be inferred from his publications. Even so, his work stands out for its serious engagement with Connecticut history and for the way it turns archival material into readable narrative.